South Caucasus

There is no denying that the EU, especially key member states acting in support, helped bring Baku and Yerevan closer to the Washington Declaration of August 8, 2025. But a declaration is not a treaty. Turning principles into a peace deal and eventually to a sustainable peace requires consistent long-term European involvement, writes Yalchin Mammadov in this-op-ed for commonspace.eu Before facilitating trust between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the EU is first expected to address its own credibility gap with Baku. A more balanced approach—such as including Azerbaijan, alongside Armenia, in the European Peace Facility—could be a useful first step. Diplomats can negotiate peace; societies must build peace. In this context, the EU can do what it does the best: long-term societal engagement. By expanding youth and academic exchange programmes, investing in cross-border civil society initiatives, and fostering people-to-people cooperation, Brussels can help shape a new generation equipped to sustain peace beyond political cycles. Such tools are slow and unglamorous, but if ignored, even the strongest treaty risks collapse. And obviously, these aspects require two-way engagement and genuine willingness by both governments to facilitate contact. If Brussels wants to remain influential, it needs to replace outdated one-size-fits-all policies with ambitious, interest-driven and differentiated approaches. Without a clear regional strategy, which appears to be the current situation, the South Caucasus will continue to sit at the margins of Europe’s security architecture—leaving space for other powers to take the lead. (You can read the op-ed in full by clicking the image.)

The meeting titled “The residue of conflict: Landmines and other remnants of war in the South Caucasus, and its victims” was held in Yerevan, Armenia, on Monday, 24 November 2025, in the framework of the 2025 regional campaign "Landmine Free South Caucasus" (LFSC25). Addressing the meeting, Mr Stepan Grigoryan, Chairman of the Armenian Analytical Center on Globalisation and Regional Cooperation, emphasized that the problem of landmines is mutual, and it exists in both Armenia and Azerbaijan. He argued that it is important in the peace process to address the humanitarian issues caused by landmines. In addition, he also stressed that it is important for experts to have conversations on the topic of demining, as often it is experts who begin the process that can then be taken further by governments. Stepan Grigoryan said he was happy to be collaborating with LINKS Europe on this important issue, and was glad to associate himself with the LFSC 25 appeal. Anahit Poghosyan, Adviser to the Secretary of the RA Security Council also spoke at the event. Ms Anahit Poghosyan said that the problem of landmines exists in Armenia, and that already around 800 people have been injured or killed due to landmine contamination. The border regions are highly affected, and around 200000 people live in proximity of contaminated areas. She stressed that landmine contamination is an important issue to solve. In addition, she added that Armenia remains committed to humanitarian principles and that experts have been involved in checking the contamination maps to ensure reliability. She ended on an important note that landmines undermine peace and development and pose a grave humanitarian situation in the region. (read more by clicking the image)